“Keep it simple! Chick-fil-a’s Truett Cathy has it right.
“In my practice I share with my clients, if you apply a few basic principles you will see positive changes in your pet’s health: from weight loss, healthier skin and a pet with more energy.” Dr. Joyce Gerardi
#1 Make a Choice for a Better Standard of Eating:
In order to increase your pet or Assistance dog’s (working dog) health, I strongly recommend a few simple changes. Step one is to incorporate fresh whole foods into their diet daily.
I tell my clients you need to keep it simple or it just won’t happen! I hear so many times…“Besides, I rarely cook for myself and you want me to do what?”…
Stay with me here… As with human nutrition, dogs and cats are healthiest when eating a wide variety of minimally processed foods. Unlike conventional commercial pet foods with questionable ingredients such as “meat by-products” cooked at high temperatures, the food you prepare in your own kitchen will be full of the necessary enzymes, intact amino acids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients that nature intended. Even though the top tier high quality pet foods (as listed on the pet food advisor) have vastly improved ingredients and cooking methods, fresh unadulterated foods high in moisture and preferably fresh will always offer the best nutrition. You will also have complete control of what goes into your pet’s bowl and what you decide to leave out.
Dogs and cats were designed to digest animal protein and they do best on a meat-based diet. Dogs are omnivores with a carnivorous past and fresh good quality meat composed of muscle, fat, bone and connective tissue should make up a major part of their diet along with vegetables and balanced minerals. Cats are obligate carnivores and they do best with a nearly all meat diet with only very small amounts of other components. “Meat” can include: turkey, chicken, fish, organs and eggs cooked in your own kitchen. One thing to avoid is raw Pacific salmon, which can contain liver flukes that are lethal to dogs (Salmon poisoning) unless the fish is cooked. Please note other cooked fish is okay to feed.
** Please Stay Tuned for our KIM July BLOG Part 2: A Whole food Guide for feeding your furry friend a Balanced meal from your own kitchen.
Dr. Joyce will share a few easy ingredient, home-made recipes and whole food supplements to make simple and completely balanced meals for your dogs and cats.
“If I can do it, I know you can too”
…Let food be your pets medicine.
Dr. Joyce Gerardi DVM CVA
drjoyce@kindred-caninesinmotion.org
